2.2. Description of Facebook
Facebook.com originated in 2004 to facilitate social interaction exclusively among college students. The site now includes more
than 49 million users and is available for use by anyone with a valid email address (Facebook, nd/no date). Facebook operates by
allowing users to select one or more “networks” to which they will belong, such as a specific high school or university, a
geographical area or city, or a company. Some networks, such as a university or a metropolitan area, may include thousands of
members. Each user maintains a “profile,” which is a webpage containing basic information such as the individual's year of
graduation and home town, as well as personal information, such as his or her name and whether he or she is single or in a
relationship (i.e., “relationship status”). Users may inform others about what they are doing by changing the “current status”
message that appears at the top of the profile.
In addition, Facebook allows users to designate “friends.” An individual who is invited to be a member's Facebook friend may
either accept or reject the offer, thus providing individual control over one's list of friends. The user can control how much
information to post and who can view this information by editing their privacy settings. Specific groups of people (a network or
friends) may be granted limited access to specific parts of the profile.
Facebook members can upload digital pictures into virtual photo albums. A user can be “tagged” in these pictures so that his or
her name appears in the caption as a link to his or her profile. If the individual does notwant to be associated with the picture, he or
she can “untag” it, thereby removing the name and the link (though this does not remove the picture). Members are able to post
comments on photos, which appear as messages below the picture. Similarly, it is possible to post links to videos.
Facebook offers several options for communicating with others. Users can interact by sending private messages, similar to
emailing. Members who are “friends” may post public messages on each other's “walls,” which are personal message boards on
their profiles. Communication may also occur in groups, which Facebook members can create and join. Groups may be formed on
any topic (e.g., Procrastinators Unite…Tomorrow; Indian Classical Dancers; I am a Carnivore). Offline social interactions can be
facilitated through Facebook by creating invitations to events, or online notifications for meetings, parties, and other gatherings.
Users may also post “notes” or blog-like entries that are linked to their profile pages.
The “headline” news in one's Facebook account is captured by “news feed” and “mini-feed” functions. The news feed, which
appears on the user's homepage upon log-in, provides a list of actions that friends have recently undertaken, such as posting on
walls or changing their relationship status. In addition, each user's personal list of actions appears in his or her own profile as the
mini-feed. A user's mini-feed tracks “stories” that will appear about him or her in friends' news feeds. Users may restrict the types
of stories broadcast about them by these applications.